The Order of Business is No. 1, the International Protection Bill 2026 - Committee Stage, to be taken at 3.45 p.m. and to adjourn at 7.45 p.m., if not previously concluded; and No. 2, Private Members' business in the names of Fine Gael Senators, the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) (Amendment) (Work Equipment) Bill 2026 - Second Stage, to be taken at 7.45 p.m., with the time allocated to the debate not to exceed two hours.

I will talk a little about all of the celebrations all over the country yesterday for St. Patrick's Day. We are incredibly lucky that it is a feast day celebrated all around the world. People come together to celebrate Irish culture, music and tradition. Buildings in cities turned green. There were festivals. It is a day that highlights a sense of joy and community. It showcases the very best that we have in volunteers and in our community and sporting clubs.

The parades I attended in Kildare were particularly good. I will talk specifically about Newbridge, which was filled with energy, colour and a huge sense of local pride in every single float and performance. I know that is reflected right across the county and country. It showed incredible effort and creativity, making it a memorable celebration for everybody. I thank all the parade committees and volunteers from the clubs who got involved.

We all watched as the Taoiseach met Donald Trump yesterday to highlight the strong ties between Ireland and the United States. In the current global climate, with many different political and economic challenges shaping international challenges, such engagements are certainly far from straightforward and are rarely without challenge. I know the visit attracted a certain amount of public criticism. I feel that the Taoiseach handled the situation with pure professionalism and composure, representing Ireland with confidence and reinforcing important diplomatic connections on the world stage.

I send a note of sympathy to the family of Dolores Keane. She was such a wonderful performer. Hers was a truly treasured voice in Irish music that carried emotion, history and passion. I send my deepest sympathy to her son and daughter, her brother Seán, and her extended family.

I offer congratulations to Jessie Buckley for becoming the first Irishwoman to win the best actress award at the Oscars. Her talent, dedication and commitment have earned this well-deserved recognition.

Speaking of Hollywood and films, my own hometown of Rathangan is host to a film, "Walk the Blue Fields". Starting today and for the next three days, there is a full film crew in the area. A lot of landscaping and painting has gone on over the past two weeks. It will be wonderful to see it all come to fruition tomorrow.

On that note, it is drama festival season. I attended the Kildare Drama Festival last week. The Rathangan Drama Festival will start on 20 March. It is wonderful to see plays from new scriptwriters and new playwrights, particularly Eugene O'Brien from neighbouring Edenderry.

He was here on a tour. I met him last Thursday. His plays Heaven and Eden were shown in Kildare and are due to be shown in Rathangan. I wish all those are involved - Noreen in Kildare and Mairéad and Connie in Rathangan - the best of luck in their festivals. A lot of effort goes on behind the scenes but it gives all of us the opportunity to see the very best of drama on stage in our home towns.

Today I rise with great pride to acknowledge an extraordinary achievement by a remarkable young woman from my own county of Kerry. Jessie Buckley of Killarney has made history as the first Irish actress ever to win an Academy Award in a leading role. For a Kerry woman to stand on that global stage and bring home an Oscar is simply and surely special. Jessie's portrayal of Shakespeare's wife, Agnes, in the movie is powerful, layered and deeply human. She brings a quiet strength to the role of a mother that stays with you long after the film ends. Alongside her, Paul Mescal, a Kildare man and not a bad footballer either, delivers an extraordinary performance as William Shakespeare. The chemistry between these two actors, the emotional weight they carry and the truth they bring to that story are central to the film's success. It is a remarkable Irish contribution to a global work of art. Those of us from Kerry know well the strength, resilience and determination that define us. Jessie embodies all of that. From her earliest days performing in Killarney, she showed a spark that was impossible to ignore but talent alone does not carry anyone to the Oscars. What brought her there was a gift, hard work and a refusal to give up - qualities that anyone who knows her or her family will recognise instantly. Her success means so much to the people of Killarney and to communities right across Kerry and indeed Ireland. Young people growing up in rural Ireland can now look at Jessie and see that the world is open to them. They can see that someone who walked the same streets, went to the same rural school and grew up with the same challenges can go on to achieve something extraordinary. Jessie has never forgotten where she comes from. She carries Kerry with her in everything she does and in doing so, she lifts us all up. Her achievement is not just a personal triumph; it is a moment of national pride.

Given the historic nature of her Oscar win, I believe her accomplishment should be formally recognised by the State, so today I am officially proposing a State civic reception on Jessie Buckley's return to Ireland. She has brought honour to Killarney, Kerry and indeed Ireland and it is only right and fitting that we acknowledge the significance of what she has achieved. On behalf of this House, I extend my warmest congratulations to Jessie, her family and the community that has supported her from the very beginning - in her humble words the other day, "go raibh míle maith agat, slán", from the humblest person you could meet.

I welcome visitors from Dublin College Sallynoggin who are here in both galleries today as guests of Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett. I also welcome H.E. Bernardo Guanche Hernández, the Cuban ambassador to Ireland, who is accompanied by Marie Barry. They are here with Senator Andrews and they are very welcome. I hope the ambassador enjoys his visit to Leinster House.

I welcome the ambassador and Marie Barry, a great colleague and friend of mine in former years It is great to see her here. I did not recognise her. It is particularly great to see her and all our guests, including those from Dublin College Sallynoggin.

Previous speakers have spoken about Saint Patrick's Day and what a great festival and great celebration of our culture, our heritage and indeed our enterprise it is. I and other colleagues were over at a showcase in Tesco Ireland for artisan food, meat and other products in the UK. Tesco Ireland was principally involved organising this in conjunction with Bord Bia. It was a very proud moment for those of us who attended.

We met ten suppliers who had been chosen to exhibit in a showcase in the UK: Golden Bake; Flahavan's; Ornua; Portumna Pastry; Killowen yoghurts and dairy produce; Keohane Seafoods; Coole Swan liqueur; Silver Pail ice cream; Folláin jams, with which we are familiar; and of course ABP Meats. All of those who attended the showcase were there to look at and test the food and to see how Tesco is promoting Irish produce. It is a proud day for Ireland that the market has been expanded with the help and assistance of Tesco. I give a shout-out to Tesco and to Bord Bia for opening the door for small enterprises that will now be selling their wares on shelves right across the United Kingdom. That is some achievement, and with it comes more investment, more upskilling and more money for their plants, etc. Rising the market brings many challenges.

I would like at some point to have the Minister of State, Deputy Grealish, in to talk about the Irish food sector and the potential, particularly in the UK. I would also like to single out and thank our excellent Irish ambassador, Martin Fraser. We met him during the trip. He is a wonderful ambassador. He is not going to be staying much longer with us. He is going to other fields in the same service. I thank him for an amazing job in assisting us and supporting the expansion of all things cultural and in enterprise, particularly in the UK market. I also acknowledge the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan. Many other Irish people gathered in Westminster for the annual St. Patrick's Day celebrations there. We were so warmly welcomed and received. We can talk about the Taoiseach in America, but I think it is unbelievable that despite Brexit and everything else we continue to have amazing commercial ties and connections in the UK, our closest neighbour. I have a sense that they are even stronger than they were two or three years ago. The potential for economic development between our two countries is critically important. We have a long history in terms of our diaspora going to the UK but I believe there is further room for growth. I went away feeling inspired about enterprise. I refer not only to the partnership with Tesco, but also to other potential food development. I thank our ambassador for the enormous work he is doing on the ground in London.

I welcome the Cuban ambassador. It is important that he is here in our Parliament. These are worrying times for Cuba and the Cuban people. Indeed, they are worrying times for the entire world with what is happening. It is important that Ireland stands with and supports the Cuban people at a time when they are facing horrendous terror, in effect. The Cuban people were good to Ireland and it is time for Ireland to be good to Cuba. I also acknowledge the very recent passing of Eleanor Lanigan, whom people will have known from Leinster House. Eleanor was a great advocate and campaigner for human rights and for Cuba. I want to acknowledge that.

Some €581 million will be spent by Dublin City Council to move the civic offices from Wood Quay to Camden Yard. The reality is that the Government and Dublin City Council have no problem finding money when they want to. They have no problem finding the money for new shiny well-insulated offices, but for residents living in tiny flats with damp and mould, and for residents living in substandard flats and houses, the rent just gets higher and higher. There are still no improvements. There is no sense there are going to be any improvements in maintenance. The residents in flat complexes have no prospect of seeing better insulation in their homes. The plans for the regeneration of Pearse House were cancelled because the Government said it could not find the money; it could not afford it. Suddenly, from down the back of the couch, the Government has pulled out the necessary money to support the council's move to Camden Yard. Given that it has been possible for the Government to find money for new shiny offices for Dublin City Council at Camden Yard, it seems that the money from the cancelled Pearse House regeneration and the money from the new rent increases for tenants in Dublin City Council housing will pay for those new offices.

Residents of Oliver Bond House, Countess Markievicz House and Mercer House all have to live with dampness and mould and pay more for the privilege to do so. Effectively, the Government is saying to residents that they can put up with leaks and sewage overflowing in their homes, but it is going to spend the money on new offices. That is hurtful and unfair. Of course everybody welcomes the new homes that will come with this development but why forget about the old homes for families who have been trying to survive in substandard conditions? Regeneration should be for everyone, not only for the council with its new office plans. Regeneration should be for families who believed in this city before everyone left or was pushed out into the suburbs. The money is there and the Government and the council need to regenerate the flat complexes across the city. Countess Markievicz House, Vincent Street and Rathmines Avenue all need regeneration now. The money is there but the Government is choosing not to invest it in flat complexes.

Before I move on to our next speaker, I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, a former Member of this House and his guests from the Dungarvan and West Waterford Chamber of Commerce. You are very welcome and I hope you enjoy your visit to Leinster House today.

I raise with the Leader an issue he has heard me speak about before. It relates to Portumna Forest Park. Regrettably, in the past two weeks, Coillte has decided not to include it as part of its strategic master plan. It has chosen other sites in Roscommon, Wicklow and Cork as its top three. Regrettably, we have been left off the list. Coillte walked off the pitch in Portumna 20 years ago when it was to do a strategic investment. It has only been recently that it started working with the local authority, Galway County Council. There were good suggestions within the strategic plan, the provision of toilet facilities being one. Easy access, upgrading trails and walks were also included. While there are fantastic amenities in the west of the county, it is important that they are balanced and that we would have a fit-for-purpose recreational park in Portumna with basic amenities, including toilet accessibility and an eating area. We also need to ensure biodiversity is alive and well in it.

My plea today is that, through the Leader's good offices, we have statements in the House to understand Coillte's decision-making process. I would love for the Minister to come in and explain to us how Coillte made decisions that did not see accessibility as its key, number one priority for its recreational parks. I understand that Storm Éowyn has put a huge financial burden on Coillte and that there are years of timber on the ground. At the same time, from a recreational development point of view, which is one of Coillte's main pillars, the upgrade of Portumna Forest Park is of utmost importance.

I second Senator Kennelly's wonderful idea for an event in recognition of the lovely Jessie Buckley. Allow yourself to bend like a willow in the wind, so that you will not break. A willow tree represents resilience and adapting to the wisdom of life's storms. Last week, I had the honour of going to the Solstice Arts Centre in Navan where Meath Women's Refuge changed its name to Willow Domestic Abuse Services. My council colleagues have approved plans by Meath County Council for a new women's refuge on a 1.3 ha site in Navan. This is a major step forward in addressing domestic abuse and providing vital protection for women and children in Meath. The new refuge will provide a modern, purpose-built facility, delivering essential front-line support for women and children experiencing domestic abuse. It will include a main building offering day services, counselling and support facilities, together with 12 secure residential accommodation units designed to meet urgent safety needs. It will also include secure parking and a protected residential courtyard featuring a secure sensory garden to create a safe, therapeutic and supportive environment for residents rebuilding their lives after abuse. It comes at a time when domestic abuse services across Ireland are under unprecedented pressure.

In 2024, Women's Aid recorded 46,700 disclosures of domestic violence, with 41,000 of those against women and 5,000 of them involving children. Locally, Willow Domestic Abuse Services reported a 22% increase in helpline calls in 2024, with 1,376 calls for help received and 194 women and children stayed in refuge accommodation while hundreds more accessed outreach and core support services.

Funding for the women's refuge has been improved and I welcome this major investment. This investment represents not only additional accommodation but a critical response to a growing social need, ensuring that women and children in Meath have access to safety, dignity and specialist support when they need it most. Although this is a wonderful investment, it has never been more important to keep up this investment across County Meath and Ireland.

As Fianna Fáil spokesperson in the Seanad for arts and culture, I will use my time to congratulate Ireland's very own slice of Kerry gold, Jessie Buckley, on her magnificent win. It is the crowning glory of what has been an incredible few weeks, becoming the first ever Irish woman to win the best actress Oscar. I do not want to sound like I am making an Oscar's speech myself but we have to mention Marina Cassidy and Tim Buckley, her very proud parents. She has made everybody right across this country, and particularly in her own county, extremely proud. I mention those schools, such as the Ursuline Secondary School, Thurles, County Tipperary and the Kerry School of Music because they are certainly taking a lot of really well-deserved credit for where she is now.

This is something we need to focus on a little bit more as well. She is an incredible role model for arts right across Ireland and we need to focus on how we can capitalise on this and make sure the next generation following Jessie Buckley can come along.

Of course, it was not even a few weeks ago when Jessie Buckley appeared on the Jimmy Fallon show on American television. She famously mentioned Termonfeckin and Drogheda in my parish. We were delighted and we have made her an honorary Termonfeckin women and a Droghedian as well. I take this opportunity to formally invite her to come and visit Termonfeckin and Drogheda, where we would be delighted to allow her to show off her Oscar.

It is also a good opportunity for me to invite the Minister for arts into the Seanad to have a debate on how we can possibly fund smaller drama groups and smaller community groups to make sure the future of the likes of Jessie Buckley is safe in Ireland.

Today, I rise to speak about the plight of families living in Ballyhealy in south Wexford, an area that has been devastated by coastal erosion. The Wexford coasts are currently eroding at a rate of about 1 m to 3 m a year but unfortunately, in Ballyhealy at the moment, it is eroding at about 5 m to 6 m a year. You can imagine the devastation and fear that is causing for families living in that area. About 200 m upstream, there is Seaview, an area that has been protected to the tune of €657,000 by the OPW, where 14 families live. Those works are expected to stop the coastal erosion there.

Unfortunately, in Ballyhealy at the moment, there is no opportunity yet for the Fortune family and their potato business there to get protection. Working with the local councillor, Councillor Frank Staples, I have previously raised this case with both Wexford County Council and the OPW. There really is a direct need now for action in this area before it is too late and that business employing 12 people and their two homes are washed away by the sea. I implore the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW to take another look at this project, make much needed funding available and work with Wexford County Council to ensure this issue in Ballyhealy can be addressed once and for all.

Today, I raise the European Union Drugs Agency's report that has been covered in national media today about the increased levels of ketamine and cocaine use in the country based on water surveys carried out in Ringsend, Dublin, that showed increased levels on Fridays and Mondays.

There is a new national drugs strategy and the focus is moving towards a public health approach, reducing harm, supporting recovery and improving healthcare access for people using. I do not believe that the education is working. The simple message of "Do not use drugs" is not working. The last survey in Ireland was published in 2019 and showed 24.4% of the population aged between 15 and 64 have used cannabis at some stage. There are further implications. Throughout the west of Ireland, I see the lack of Garda numbers having an impact on this issue. It will be very difficult to address this in all rural areas if there is no Garda presence on the ground. I call for a discussion in the House on the drugs strategy.

I also congratulate all of the voluntary committees throughout the country involved in hosting, setting up and organising St. Patrick's Day parades yesterday. In the absence of the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, I acknowledge St. Mary's College in Mullingar which brought home the Hogan Cup yesterday. My godson and nephew were involved. I congratulate them.

Last Monday, there was a meeting with councillors in Cavan about roads funding. Our councillors are disillusioned, distraught and feel they wasted their time coming to Leinster House to give detailed presentations on road deterioration to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. During the previous Government, the Greens were blamed for everything. The Minister, Eamon Ryan, was criticised for prioritising bike lanes and greenways, yet it seems the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, will continue on the same path. How can we justify hundreds of millions being spent on greenways when our basic road infrastructure is collapsing? We have had enough. The Minister lied to Fianna Fáil councillors when he said there would be a funding announcement in December. He lied again when he said there would be a substantial-----

You cannot really make those type of accusations. Can you find another word?

-----increase in funding. I have submitted Commencement debates with him and he has never come to the House for one. I checked his record and found he has not come to the House for any Commencement debates since the general election in 2024. We need to send out an SOS for the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, because if one looks at the Dáil and Seanad records we seldom see him here. Maybe the cost of fuel is so high that he cannot drive to Leinster House or perhaps he has become stuck in a pothole.

I feel there is zero respect for councillors who have prepared factual evidence-based presentations on roads. Every Senator should push for statements on roads because we need to get a face-to-face meeting with the Minister to ask what is going on. People could cry going to work on our roads. We are double taxed on absolutely everything. People are paying through the nose for tax on their cars that will not pass the NCT. They are paying for tolls, fuel costs are rising and, on top of that, the roads are disintegrating. Our roads are like those in developing countries rather than those of a developed country. Older people have put aside a little bit every week to save for fuel in their tank and are terrified that their hard-earned savings will not cover a full tank of fuel. The worst part is that the Government has control. In fact, for every litre of diesel put into a car, the Government takes about 60% of the cost in tax. It is planning an increase in taxes on home heating oil in May. The Government needs to put its money where its mouth is and cut carbon taxes.

I ask Senator O'Reilly to withdraw the word "lied" please. We do not use that word.

I withdraw the word "lied". I will replace it with-----

That is okay. Thank you.

I would like to highlight an initiative I visited on Monday at the foot of Croagh Patrick in the Croagh Patrick visitor centre. It is an immersive virtual reality experience that guides people up the mountain. I am highlighting it because it is a good example of a tourist attraction that would generally be inaccessible to many people for reasons of disability, inability or mobility.

Thankfully, because of the ingenuity and the innovation from the Mayo north-east leadership programme, they have invested in this 3D technology, which brings you on a guided journey up the pilgrimage mountain. You are escorted alongside a St. Patrick figure, who brings you up and tells you the story of Patrick. It is an interesting, enjoyable and good telling of the story. It is a very good example of inclusive tourist experiences. For anyone who is not able to climb a mountain, to have at a busy tourist attraction a way to bring that experience to their doorstep through the visitor centre is something that we should highlight, share and promote. For all of the tourist attractions that we all have in our counties, it is fairly affordable to be able to do. It makes a big difference for people, especially those who are vulnerable or are not able-bodied, to be able to do something such as a climb or visit a cliff face.

I compliment them. It is officially opening later this year, in May. We had a preview on Monday, before St. Patrick's Day. It is a positive investment in the area and it could be rolled out to tourist attractions around the country. I would encourage the Minister, Deputy Burke, to consider rolling out funding to support that.

I want to raise in the House today some of the questions that the Taoiseach brought up in his meeting in the White House yesterday with President Trump. First, I congratulate the Taoiseach because that was a very difficult environment to be in and he acquitted himself well, given the circumstances.

The Taoiseach has rightly raised questions, as has the Tánaiste, about the legitimacy of the current air campaign on Iran. It is a humanitarian catastrophe and an environmental catastrophe and as much as we despise the regime and how repugnant it is, what has happened here is that President Trump has torn up the international rules-based order. He is acting outside of the United Nations mandate and contrary to the international laws and conventions of armed conflict.

One of the points the Taoiseach made during his visit was that we are committed to that rules-based order and I applaud that sentiment. Why, if that is the case, would we step back from the United Nations and the UN Security Council and remove the triple lock? Now is not the time to stand back and push back on the UN. It is a choice of the Irish people, a sovereign choice of these Houses, that we be bound by the multilateral principles of the triple lock, and we are making a fundamental error in removing that. Reputation takes decades, hundreds of years, to create. Notoriety can happen overnight.

We criticise the United States for entering a conflict without a UN Security Council mandate, yet at the same time we hold the contradictory view that we do not need a UN Security Council mandate any more to deploy our own troops to what will be hostile environments. I am asking that we have a debate in this House about the necessity to put a referendum to the people to enshrine our military neutrality in the Constitution because when our neutrality is gone, as the advertisement says, it is gone.

I was following the debate on the Order of Business upstairs in my office and I felt compelled to come to the House to speak about the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. There were some scurrilous accusations being hurled his way and I am glad that some comments were withdrawn on my way down to the Chamber because it is not something any of us in here could stand over.

The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has been extremely responsive to Members of this House, Members of the Lower House and councillors around the country. He is, in fact, one of the most responsive Ministers. The recent roads funding announcement was far more significant than those of previous Ministers for transport.

Senator O'Reilly was not here in the previous term but I was, and I can compare the current Minister for Transport to the previous Minister. What the Minister has done in terms of road funding is very significant. If I look at the list of other transport infrastructure projects he has been pushing on, it includes the delivery of MetroLink, which is a significant project for the country, not just Dublin. The whole north-east region will benefit from MetroLink. It also includes the expansion of the rural bus network and the rail network, including DART+ Coastal North, DART+ West and the Luas expansion. The Minister is doing all of that in addition to his very important brief on energy infrastructure. It is completely erroneous to suggest that he or any of his colleagues are reluctant to come in to the House. I have found all our senior Ministers, including the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, to be very responsive. He is always around and is always open to talk to any of us. It is unbecoming of a Member of this House to attack him in the manner in which he was attacked.

As Members will be aware, the Scottish Parliament has voted by 69 votes to 57 to defeat a Bill that would have introduced assisted suicide in Scotland. This means assisted suicide will be kept out of Scotland. If that Bill had passed in the Scottish Parliament and gone on to become law, it would have ushered in an irrevocable change that would have put vulnerable people at risk and seen the ending of thousands of lives through assisted suicide in Scotland.

It is interesting, after two years of debate and intense scrutiny the Bill received, that Holyrood, which is widely regarded as very socially progressive, to use that phrase, came to the conclusion that introducing assisted suicide was unsafe and dangerous. We saw MSPs come to realise the flaws that were in that Bill.

The lesson we should take in Ireland, given that these debates are coming up and we had a committee of these Houses, on which I served, looking at the issue, is, first, the importance of political leadership. It is noteworthy that the First Minister of Scotland, as well as the leader of the Scottish Labour Party, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives and the Deputy First Minister, all voted against this Bill. That is the importance of political leadership because this is an issue that can take off and on which there can be highly emotive debates. People can feel manipulated emotionally and pressured to support measures like this that are, in fact, quite dangerous.

The second issue, which has been pointed out by Dr. Gordon Macdonald of Care Not Killing, is that one in four people who would benefit from palliative care in Scotland is not getting it. Countries need to provide proper assistance in dying. High-quality palliative care involves psychological and social support. It is about the alleviation of symptoms of pain and discomfort, but it is also about much more. We need to make sure that, not just at the end of life but in all cases, because while caring is always necessary, curing is not always possible, there are in Ireland broad-ranging supports available so that people do not feel pressured into thinking that their lives do not matter or matter less and that they would be better off asking to have their lives ended. It is such a problem for society when that happens.

I thank all Senators for their contributions. Senator O'Loughlin commended all those involved in the St. Patrick's Day festival in County Kildare, particularly Newbridge, and around the country. She also mentioned the meeting between the Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, and President Trump and commended the Taoiseach on his handling of the meeting. She also paid tribute to the late Dolores Keane. May she rest in peace. I extend our sympathies to her family and friends. The Senator also acknowledged Jessie Buckley for winning the best actress award, as well as the drama festivals in Kildare and Rathangan.

Senators Kennelly and Comyn also commended Jessie Buckley, the first female Oscar winner from Ireland. I agree with Senator Kennelly that it would be a wonderful idea to suggest having a civic reception for Jessie Buckley, possibly in Kerry but wherever she may wish to attend.

It would certainly be a fitting tribute for a history maker and someone who will inspire a whole new generation of women and men to get involved in acting.

Senator Boyhan acknowledged the work of Tesco Ireland and Bord Bia in opening the door for small Irish businesses to sell into the United Kingdom. There are rising opportunities for new markets. He called for a debate with the Minister of State, Deputy Grealish, on the matter of new markets and I will request that. He also acknowledged Ambassador Fraser in the UK and the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, for organising the events in Westminster for St. Patrick's Day.

Senator Andrews welcomed the Cuban ambassador and acknowledged that these are worrying times for the Cuban people. He mentioned that €581 million is to be spent on moving Dublin City Council offices to Camden Yard from Wood Quay. In that context, he raised the maintenance of flat complexes at Pearse House, Oliver Bond flats and Markievicz House. As I understand it, the move to Camden Yard will result in modern energy-efficient civic offices and 300 public homes, and moving from Wood Quay will also allow for in excess of 500 homes on the Wood Quay lands. However, I take the Senator's point on the need to invest in warmer homes and the regeneration of council properties. I will try again to organise a debate on the matter with the Minister for housing.

Senator Rabbitte spoke about Coillte's plans for Portumna Forest Park. She would like to see investment in toilets and accessibility at the forest Park. She has called for statements on the matter. If she puts down a Commencement matter to the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, it may be allowed.

Senator Nelson Murray referred to Willow Domestic Abuse Services in Navan in highlighting the importance of new refuges and investment in refuge places. I acknowledge that and the €80 million investment into Cuan and refuge services in budget 2026. I know there are ongoing plans to invest this year in new safe homes in Dublin and Louth, in particular, and in a refuge centre in Monaghan.

Senator Comyn called for a debate with the Minister for arts on the funding of smaller drama groups. I will request that the Minister come to the House to debate this matter.

Senator Cathal Byrne raised the plight of families in Ballyhealy on the Wexford coast where there has been erosion of the coastline. He acknowledged the work of Councillor Frank Staples and called for the direct funding that is required for works at Ballyhealy. I suggest that he should table a Commencement matter to the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Deputy Moran, to see what investment might be available. He mentioned works in Seaview so maybe there could be an extension to those works. Perhaps similar works are needed in Ballyhealy.

Senator Scahill raised the finding in a European Drugs Agency report that there has been an increase in ketamine and cocaine in wastewater across Europe and in this country. He spoke about having a discussion on the drugs strategy. I will request a debate on this matter with the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor. It is an important issue. The Senator mentioned that evidence has been found of increases in drug use on Fridays and Mondays, which would indicate that it is happening during the weekend period. Those statistics provide a certain amount of information for those involved in prevention and in detection. He also commended St. Mary's College in Mullingar on winning the Hogan Cup. Congratulations to the members of the team and their families.

Senator Sarah O'Reilly spoke about the deterioration of roads and called for the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, to come to the House to debate roads funding. She said that he has not been seen much in this House. I know he was here on 24 February for a Commencement debate on wind energy, but I will request that he comes to the House to talk about roads. It is a serious issue across the country and is not helped by the level of rainfall we have had, not just in the past three months but since last September. We have had some very wet periods of weather.

Senator Clifford-Lee raised a number of issues that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has been dealing with such as MetroLink, the rail expansion and Luas.

On the climate side, he has a heavy agenda in terms of meetings overseas as well but I will request that he comes in to talk about roads issues.

Senator Duffy talked about the 3D technology virtual experience at the foot of Croagh Patrick. I am not sure if he climbed himself, but he was talking about the inclusive tourist experience for those who are not able, who may have accessibility problems or age or mobility issues. It sounds very interesting and exciting, and a good offering to the community there.

Senator Clonan talked about the triple lock and the need for a referendum regarding neutrality. He commended Micheál Martin on his commitment to the rules-based order in his comments in the White House. I will request a debate with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on that matter.

Senator Mullen commented about the defeat of a Bill on assisted suicide in Scotland by 69 votes to 57. He talked about the need to ensure that supports and care are provided to people who have health issues and maybe have end-of-life issues. I will request a debate on the matter of ageing, palliative care and areas around that.

I thank all Senators for their contributions.